Program Archives - 2004
December 27 - No meeting
December 20th at the WAC - Christmas Celebration with Santa and kids
October 13th at the WAC - John R. Batiste, Chief, Washington State Patrol.  Chief Batiste heads up the largest public safety, law enforcement agency in the State of  Washington. Chief Batiste oversees six bureaus; Field Operations, Fire Protection, Forensic Laboratory Services, Investigative Services, Management Services and the Technical Services Bureau. With over 30 years of experience he is respected world wide for being one of the most innovative leaders in law enforcement.
December 6th at the Sheraton - Annual Rotary Auction

November 29th at the WAC - Joel Connelly, political writer and columnist for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, will speak on "Post-election Analysis: Are we functional'?

November 22nd at the WAC - Reagan Dunn, candidate for King County Council and young Republican on the rise.
November 15th at the WAC - Richard Rapport, M.D., neurosurgeon, altruist and author; Department of Neurological Surgery, Group Health Cooperative.  Dr. Rapport will speak about his latest book, NERVE ENDINGS: The Discovery of the Synapse (WW Norton, 2005).  "In the early nineteenth century, great debate erupted over the structure of the nervous system. Staining techniques and microscopes became just good enough by the middle of that century to begin to actually see neural elements, rather than to speculate about how the nervous system ought to work. The neuron theory eventually prevailed, and is responsible for the magnificent neuroscience of the 20th century. This book is the story of how that was done."
November 8th at the WAC - Justice Thomas Chambers, Washington Supreme Court.  Justice Chambers will speak on “The Rest of the Story,” the truth behind the headlines concerning some significant cases from the Washington State Supreme Court.   It includes an insider’s view of recent cases involving the 2004 Gregoire-Rossi gubernatorial election cases, the election primary cases and the up skirt photograph case.

November 1st at the WAC - Sally Gray, Rotary District 5030 Governor.  Sally will review the state of the district and our club’s unique role in fulfilling its mission and providing leadership on district issues.
October 25th at the WAC - Dr. Kathleen Kinney, D.O.  Dr. Kinney, a leader in innovative optometric methods, will be speaking on children’s vision, optometric vision therapy and eye care, and eye health of children in the United States and around the world.
October 18th at the WAC - Franklin Cudjoe, President of  Imani: The Centre for Humane Education in Ghana. Mr. Cudjoe attended the G8 Conference in Scotland. His article on Rock Star Economics has caused a stir, resulting in many TV and radio interviews. He will bring a very interesting viewpoint on aid to Africa.  Mr. Cudjoe has also served with Rotaract in Accra, Ghana.

October 11th at the WAC - Gary Locke, former Governor of Washington.  Governor Locke will speak on his recent business trip to China and on expanding opportunities for U.S. companies in that rapidly-expanding market.

October 4th at the WAC - Jeff Hansen, Program Director, KUOW-FM.  What’s the Future of Public Radio?  Is the Bush administration out to dismantle public radio for political reasons?  Is public broadcasting too liberal/too conservative or is it balanced?  Hear Jeff speak from the perspective of the program director of a respected local non-profit public broadcasting company.
September 27th at the WAC - Jennifer Ridewood, General Manager, KING-FM.  Speaking on The “10th Anniversary of Giving Back to the Arts Community,” Jennifer will outline how a gift of the radio station from the Bullitt Family to the Arts Fund continues to benefit the arts community in Seattle.

September 20th at the WAC - Rev. Stephen Sundborg, S.J., President of Seattle University  -  What’s New at Seattle U?  Seattle University is the largest independent university in the Pacific Northwest. With a wide range of academic programs, SU is ranked among the top ten master's-granting universities in the West by U.S. News and World Report.

September 13th at the WAC - Dr. Chris Elias, President, PATH:  Program for Appropriate Technology and Health.  PATH is an international, nonprofit organization that creates sustainable, culturally relevant solutions, enabling communities worldwide to break longstanding cycles of poor health. By collaborating with diverse public- and private-sector partners, it helps to provide appropriate health technologies and vital strategies that change the way people think and act.

September 6th at the WAC - Suzanne Griffin our Rotarian in Afghanistan - Suzanne Griffin, International Medical Corps and Emerald City Rotarian, reporting on her organization's accomplishments with the people of Afghanistan.  Don't miss it
August 30th at the WAC - Charles Liekweg, President of AAA Washington, will speak about the company’s operations in insurance, travel agency and motorist services, as well as the company’s perspectives on regional challenges involving transportation and education
August 23rd at the WAC - Randy Giles, Project Manager, Washington Department of Transportation, on “The Snoqualmie Pass East Project.”  Randy will speak on the proposed major improvements to I-90 over Snoqualmie Pass, including tunnels at Lake Keechelus, and the impact of those improvements (or the failure to make those improvements) on business, recreation, public safety and wildlife migration in the Pacific Northwest.
August 16th at the WAC - Leo Muller, Executive Director, CHOICES Education Group.  CHOICES is a powerful, interactive decision-making workshop that motivates middle and high school students to achieve academic success, leading to greater career and life opportunities. It engages local business, education and community stakeholders in sustainable partnerships that focus on helping young people prepare for higher education, work and citizenship. CHOICES is currently delivered in 200 sites in 40 states, and serves 200,000 students per year.

August 9th at the WAC - Eric Holdeman, Director, King County Office of Emergency Management.  Are Seattle and King County adequately prepared for a terrorist attack, a major earthquake, or even a threat of a major emergency?  It's Eric's job to coordinate that preparation.  Hear him speak about the priorities and challenges of anticipating the unexpected.
August 2nd at the WAC - Nancy Dapper, Executive Director, Alzheimer's Association of Washington.  Few of us have remained untouched by the experience of having a friend or loved one with Alzheimer's.  Nancy will tell us about ongoing progress in diagnosing and curing this devastating condition.

July 26th at the WAC - Michael Monroe, Executive Director, Bellevue Arts Museum.  Formerly curator of the prestigious Renwick Museum of the Smithsonian Institution, Mr. Monroe brings world-class expertise in craft and design to the Pacific Northwest and has begun building a whole new BAM with an entirely new mission.
July 19th at the WAC - Paige Miller, Commissioner, Port of Seattle - Paige Miller was first elected in November 1987. She was re-elected in 1993, 1997 and 2001. She served as president of the Commission in 1992, 1997 and 2004.  Miller actively works to build partnerships between the Port, the community, business and labor interests to create jobs, economic opportunities and environmental benefits. Miller, an attorney, first became involved with the Port while serving as president of the Queen Anne Community Council (1981-1984). She represented Queen Anne in negotiations with the Port, which allowed for expansion of Terminal 91 while protecting neighbors of the facility from adverse impacts.
Club Retreat on July 15th - 12:30 p.m.-4:00 p.m - 2 Union Square, 55th Floor Conference Room
July 12th at the WAC - What's it like to be a trial court judge?  Is the judicial system beyond repair?   Judge Terry Lukens served on the King County Superior Court bench until last year, when he retired to run for the state Supreme Court.  A highly-respected jurist, a former Bellevue city councilman and mayor, and formerly a partner at the Karr Tuttle Campbell law firm, Judge Lukens now serves as a private arbitrator and mediator with JAMS/ENDISPUTE. 

Judge Lukens will speak on "A Day in the Life of a Judge," and then share his perspectives on current challenges facing the justice system and the judiciary

July 5th at the WAC - Nancy Truitt Pierce - Understanding Founder “DNA” - Business founders are unique blends of skill, attitude and knowledge.  What makes one successful in taking the company to profitability, while another leaves the company -- sometimes voluntarily, sometimes not-- while it’s still working to reach critical mass?  In her book The Founder Factor, Northwest author and consultant Nancy Truitt Pierce describes “founder DNA” – traits shared by many successful founders.  In this talk, she will share first-hand stories about how founders and CEOs navigate their start-up and scale-up phases, including:
 

o        Lessons learned from working with Founders

o        Key indicators of the Founder Factor at play, and

o        The top ten problems of young companies

Regardless of your business focus or industry, you’re bound to walk away with information you can use.

Nancy Truitt Pierce, founder and President of Woods Creek Consulting Company, is one of this region’s top organizational growth experts.  Her focus is high-growth, high impact companies.  Over the past 15 years she has worked with many emerging firms through their start-up and scale-up phases, including many Founders and CEOs.  Her clients include Adobe, Boeing, Corixa, Homegrocer.com, Microsoft, TrendWest, and many more.   In March 2005 Nancy’s first book, The Founder Factor, was released, with considerable acclaim in the community of founders, CEOs, VC firms, and entrepreneurs.   You can purchase the book at www.woodscreek.com, or by calling 360.794
June 28th  - Presidents Dinner

June 21st at the WAC - Mary Walker, Dean of Nursing, Seattle University
June 14th at the WAC - Brad Tilden - CFO, Alaska Airlines
June 7th at the WAC - Capt Jonathan Funk -  IRAQ: A Soldier's Perspective

May 31st at the WAC - Warren Crain - readings from India
May 24th at the WAC - Henry Nielsen Day -  Judith Billings
May 19th at The Golf Club at Newcastle - ECRC Golf tournament
May 17th at the WAC - Susan Rahr, King County Sheriff  - Sheriff Rahr has been with the Sheriff’s Office for 25 years. She has worked as an undercover narcotics officer and commander of the Internal Investigations, Special Investigations and Gang Units. Rahr served as Shoreline’s Chief of Police from 1998 until 2000 when she was named Chief of the Sheriff Department’s Field Operations Division. Rahr worked to develop the Sexual Assault Prevention program for elementary school children and parents, prevent underage drinking and driving through the sheriff’s office Party Patrol Program and implement training in the use of less-than lethal weapons for county deputies.

May 10th at the WAC - Richard Bangs, Adventure Writer-The Mystery of the Nile - Richard Bangs of Redmond, WA co-authored The Mystery Of The Nile: The Epic Story of the First Descent of the World's Deadliest River. The film is currently featured at the IMAX Theater. Richard is just returning from Nepal where he has been covering Ed Viesturs attempt of Anapurna to be the first American to complete the quest to summit all 14 peaks in the world over 8,000 meters (26,250 feet), all of them without bottled oxygen.

Richard Bangs is executive producer and the chief correspondent of First and Best. Bangs is an entrepreneur, world adventurer, international river explorer, Web pioneer and award-winning author. He has led first descents of 35 rivers around the globe, including the Yangtze in China and the Zambezi in Southern Africa, and has published more than 500 magazine articles, 14 books, a score of documentaries and several videos and CD-ROMs. He was co-founder of the seminal online adventure site TerraQuest and founder and editor in chief of Mungo Park, a pioneering Microsoft travel publishing effort.  He was part of the founding executive team of Expedia.com, founded Well-Traveled for Slate and Great Escapes for MSNBC
May 3rd at the WAC - Cass Turnbull, Founder of Plant Amnesty - Cass Turnbull left the Seattle Parks Department in 1986 after 11 years to start her own landscape maintenance and consulting business.  Three years later, she founded PlantAmnesty, a private non-profit organization that now numbers over 900 members in 46 states and four countries.  PlantAmnesty's goal to "end the senseless torture and mutilation of trees and shrubs" has gained considerable local and national press as the organization strives to educate the commercial and public sectors on responsible, appropriate pruning and landscape management practices, establishing a standard of quality care for the urban ecology.

Born in Seattle in 1951, Turnbull studied for a liberal arts degree at Fairhaven College of Western Washington State University in Bellingham, Washington.  She is a Washington State Certified Landscaper, a Certified Arborist and teaches horticulture at Washington State Vocational Schools.  A veteran of the King County Master Gardener program, she also studied horticulture at the University of Washington Center for Urban Horticulture and at Edmonds Community College.
April 19th at the WAC - Group Study Exchange team from France.  The team is composed of 5 participants who represent district 1640 from the Normandy area of northern France.  The team is led by Edmond Ogier, past president of the Argentan Rotary Club and includes Christelle Racine, Marie Claire Fauvel, Luca Zornitta and Celine Simoes.  It should be a great opportunity to bring a guest. 
April 12th at the WAC -Cara Egan, Communications Manager - Seattle Art Museum.  The Seattle Art Museum has a lot on its plate these days.  The waterfront streetcar, the Olympic Sculpture Park, the new building right next door to SAM, the Seattle Asian Art Museum or the current exhibit at the downtown SAM, "Between Past and Future; New Photography and Video from China" to name a few.   Cara will bring us up to speed on these major issues.  It should be a fun and interesting meeting
April 5th at the WAC - Bob Blackstone, Labor Law - Bob Blackstone is a partner in Davis, Wright Tremaine. His practice includes labor and employment law including strategic labor relations planning. Bob works extensively in the area of executive employment and separation agreements, noncompetition and trade secret issues, as well as issues relating to technology in the workplace. He also defends employers in employment litigation and arbitrations.
March 29th at the WAC - Ada Healey, Vice President, Real Estate Vulcan Real Estate - With over 16 years of real estate investment and development experience, Ada M. Healey leads Vulcan's Real Estate division. She is responsible for a portfolio of real estate assets valued at $800 million, with the majority of holdings in the Pacific Northwest.

March 22nd at the WAC - Rita Nussli - New Horizons Ministries - Emerald City Rotary and many of its members have been long-time supporters of New Horizons.  Rita will give us an update on the issues currently facing street youth.  She will also talk about how New Horizons has gained national stature in its ability to help street youth exit the streets.
March 15th at the WAC - David Dorheim, CEO Neah Power Systems  Dave Dorheim, a GE veteran, has over 20 years of experience developing, producing, and marketing battery and portable power products. He most recently served as President and CEO of AER Energy Resources, a publicly-traded, battery development company based in Atlanta, GA. Previous to this, he was a Vice President at Gates Energy Products, Inc., with responsibility for assembly operations in Juarez, Mexico, Newcastle, England and Hong Kong as well as a design center in El Paso, TX. Prior to this, Dave held various engineering, marketing and management positions with General Electric and Black & Decker Corporation. Dave received a BA in mathematics and physics from Luther College in Decorah, IA in 1971.
March 1st at the WAC - Ogie Shaw, Community Fitness Leader - Ogie Shaw graduated from the University of North Carolina with degrees in both Speech and Physical Education. He holds a Master of Sacred Ministry degree from Multnomah School of the Bible in Portland, Oregon. He has been an athlete, author, pastor, fitness instructor for professional sports teams such as the Seattle Seahawks, and Portland Trailblazers. He has been an instructor and advisor to physical therapist and other medical professionals in how to motivate people to exercise.  Click on Ogie's link to read about our esteemed Program Chair

February 15th at the WAC - Tuesday morning we will hear from Sharon London Executive Director and Todd Burley (no relation to our Burley), Outreach Coordinator for the Homewaters Project.  Started in 1992 and originally known as the Thornton Creek Project, Homewaters has grown into a nonprofit organization that provides educational opportunities to students in the greater Seattle area.  The Thornton Creek watershed straddles North Seattle and South Shoreline and covers over 11 ½ square miles.  Homewaters staff provides training and workshops to teachers and also provides ecological field trips to students.  Join us on Tuesday for an interesting presentation.

February 15th at the WAC - Raj Manhas - Superintendent Seattle Public Schools.  Mr. Manhas is the "CEO" for the largest public school district in the state where over 47,000 students enrolled for the 2004-2005 year.  Approximately 13% of the students, representing 80 different languages, receive transitional bilingual services.  An average of 14% of the students receives special educational services and roughly 42% qualify for free or reduced rate lunches.  Overall enrollment is flat but down sharply from years past.  The budget of $443 million is stressed, reserves are tapped and the outlook is uncertain.  Talk about a tough job.  Join us on February 15th and find out how Mr. Manhas plans to make it all work.   

February 8th at the WAC - Linda Chalker Scott - WSU Horticulturist
February 1st at the WAC - Jay Leon - Project Inkwell - Tuesday morning we will have the pleasure of hearing from Jay Leon about a project some of usI have been following called Project Inkwell.  The goal of Project Inkwell is to accelerate the deployment of appropriate technologies onto K-12 desktops worldwide.   By implementing standards, the group aims to greatly increase the size and effectiveness of technology in the classroom.  It should be an enlightening program. 

January 25th at the WAC - Dave Valle - Esperanza - Next Tuesday morning we will have the pleasure of receiving an update about Esperanza from Dave Valle.  Emerald City Rotary will team with Esperanza this year on our centennial project.  As you know, Esperanza operates in the Dominican Republic and focuses on micro enterprise development, community development and environmental health.  We look to team with Esperanza to help them fulfill their mission of freeing children and their families of poverty through initiatives that generate income, provide education and healthcare.